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Cold Water Swimming
During certain times of the year and in some parts of the triathlon world, water temperatures can be less than 70°F. As water gets colder more of us have problems with facial immersion causing perceived shortness of breath, especially below 65°F. We also have trouble just entering the water, and are more likely to get hypothermic from swimming. Several athletes had real problems due to the cold water recently at the 2007 Xterra Championships, which occasioned this article. Allen particularly hates and suffers in cold water. These tactics come from 30 years of practical experience with cold water swimming and diving in water down to 30°F.
The number one adaptation mechanism we have access to as triathletes is the use of a full neoprene wetsuit designed for open water endurance swimming. Whether we are going to enter colder water for an open water swim event, triathlon, or just to practice, there are a number of strategies we can use to make acclimatizing to cold water environments easier and make us less likely to get hypothermic. Some of the following tips are just common sense.
- Focus on body heat conservation. Make sure you have your car heater on en route to the water entry site. Wear warm clothes AND a warm cap. In cold environments, your head becomes a major avenue for heat loss. Science supports the fact that pre-warming oneself prior to a cold challenge allows you to go farther before becoming hypothermic.
- Put your wet suit on early! We’ve lost count during the last decade of the number of early season or Northern transition areas that we’ve stood in and watched innumerable triathletes walking about shivering with goose bumps and even purplish extremities and other signs of early hypothermia. Some of those folks even would end up with the medics wrapped in a space blanket instead of crossing the finish line with us at the end of the race. SO, if you are cool in your warm-up clothes, put your wet suit on and zip ‘er up. The average modern competition suit is far warmer than even two sweat shirts. If you are still cool, put your warm top on over the wetsuit!
- Take a large disposable bottle of hot water with you. The hot water should be protected from getting cold by placing it in the middle of your gear bag. An empty large Gatorade bottle works well. Take the bottle to your water entry site and making sure it is not hot enough to burn you, pour it down the neck of your wet suit about 5-10 mins before you enter the water. The reason to use a disposable bottle is that you may be in a starting corral with a thousand friends you never met before and the bottle is best left in or near a trash bin. The warm water in your suit will largely prevent the in rush of cold water into the suit upon entering the water.
- Purchase a neoprene wetsuit cap at a scuba store These are great heat loss prevention devices. You want to get one that looks like a bathing cap with a Velcro chin strap. Don’t get a full hood. Put the cap on under your colored cap marking your wave. The blood vessels to your head can’t constrict the way (if they did you’d pass out from lack of circulation to your brain!) the ones in your feet and hands do in the cold, so your head becomes a major avenue for heat loss, especially in cold water. The neoprene foam cap will largely prevent this problem
- Experiment and find out whether the water temp you’ll be swimming in makes you dizzy As water temperatures fall below 65°F, increasing numbers of swimmers experience dizziness due to cold water entering their external ear canals. This is especially true as temps reach 60°F and below. If you are unfortunate enough to get dizzy, then you’ll need to swim with some form of ear plugs. You should experiment and find out which ones are acceptable in the pool. The inexpensive ones sold for use in construction made of foam work well and if they get lost in T1, no matter as they cost less than $2 per pair. This is cheap insurance against a cold water swim DNF.
- Go to the water’s edge and thoroughly splash water on your face 3-5 mins before entering the water This tactic will largely eliminate the shortness of breath many of us experience with cold water entry.
- Avoid a “warm-up” swim more than 5-10 mins before the start The last thing you want to do is “warm-up” long enough before water entry or race start to then become chilled prior to starting your event.
- If you are doing a triathlon in cold/wet weather, take time to towel off, and consider use of arm warmers and/or a jacket or warm long sleeve jersey Expect to be cool as you start your bike leg of the race, but use common sense. You should race in a top just a little lighter than one you would use in a practice ride in the same weather conditions. We’ve seen numerous folks heading out on the road to ride in racing singlets or speedo suits with no shirt at all in race day temps as low as the mid thirties. Many of those competitors fail to finish the race, especially the smaller women who lose heat faster in a cold environment.
- Try to find an opportunity to practice in cold water Use all the strategy tips listed above for practice sessions. Beware however, that especially on the East coast and in and near larger cities, that you don’t become a criminal by going swimming. Legal concerns posed by the owners of the body of water or the shoreline have made unsupervised swimming in many clean lakes and rivers a crime. So check the rules out before going for a swim. One substitute is early season practice in an unheated outdoor pool. In the wild, wild west or really rural areas, no one really cares what you do so have at it, but remember the number one rule of open water survival,… don’t swim by yourself!
- Be prepared to pee in your wetsuit In the physiology science world, there is a well known phenomena known as cold immersion diuresis. That means that your body makes lots of extra urine when you go swimming or diving in cold water. The wetsuit will survive, just get over it if you’re horrified by this idea. Especially in longer swims in really cold water, it is practically unavoidable. Thoroughly rinse your suit out afterward with mild soap and water, it’ll be just fine. An additional strategy here is to remember that in longer swims cold immersion diuresis may contribute to greater fluid losses and hence greater fluid needs, and you may need to drink more after the swim.
The techniques and tactics listed above are tried and true and have helped numerous competitors overcome cold water swim problems and actually come to enjoy some venues that in the past had been the site of miserable swim experiences or worse yet a DNF.
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